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Archbishop embraces William and Kate royal wedding Archbishop urges rich to share pain in Christmas sermon
(about 3 hours later)
The Archbishop of Canterbury is to refer to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in his Christmas Day sermon and say the Christian bond of marriage is a symbol of hope. The Archbishop of Canterbury will use his Christmas sermon to question whether the richest people are bearing their share of the economic downturn.
Dr Rowan Williams will describe the event as a "cause for celebration". Dr Rowan Williams' comments amount to a rebuke to the most prosperous in society, said BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott.
He will also speak of the importance of mutual dependence, fellowship and loyalty in current economic times. He will also suggest Prince William's wedding in 2011 could help restore the popularity of life-long relationships.
He will stress the need to share the burdens of adversity as some people face testing times in the downturn.
The service at Canterbury Cathedral takes place at 1100 GMT.The service at Canterbury Cathedral takes place at 1100 GMT.
'Crippling and terrifying' In it Dr Williams will speak of the importance of mutual dependence, fellowship and loyalty in current economic times, stressing the need to share the burdens of adversity.
Dr Williams will say: "Faced with the hardship that quite clearly lies ahead for so many in the wake of financial crisis and public spending cuts, how far are we able to sustain a living sense of loyalty to each other, a real willingness to bear the load together? He will say that society can only bear hardship "if we are confident that it is being fairly shared".
"How eager are we to find some spot where we feel safe from the pressures that are crippling and terrifying others? "We shall have that confidence only if there are signs that everyone is committed to their neighbour, that no-one is just forgotten, that no interest group or pressure group is able to opt out."
Dr Williams will claim there is a lasting sense that the most prosperous in society have yet to shoulder their share of the hardship imposed through economic recession. "That confidence isn't in huge supply at the moment, given the massive crises of trust that have shaken us all in the last couple of years and the lasting sense that the most prosperous have yet to shoulder their load," he will add.
BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott says this amounts to a rebuke to such people. Citing Prime Minister David Cameron's "big society" concept, he said everyone has to be ready to meet that challenge, and to restore "mutual trust".
On the royal wedding he will say: "Next year, we shall be joining in the celebration of what we hope will be a profoundly joyful event in the royal wedding. "It's no use being cynical about this; whatever we call the enterprise, the challenge is the same - creating confidence by sharing the burden of constructive work together," he will say.
"It is certainly cause for celebration that any couple, let alone this particular couple, should want to embark on the adventure of Christian marriage, because any and every Christian marriage is a sign of hope, since it is a sign and sacrament of God's own committed love." Royal celebration
'Constructive work' The archbishop will go on to refer to the upcoming wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, in April 2011, and will stress that the Christian bond of marriage is a symbol of hope.
And referring to Prime Minister David Cameron's "Big Society" idea, Dr Williams will urge people to work positively together to rebuild trust. Dr Williams will say it is "cause for celebration" that any couple should want to "embark on the adventure of Christian marriage".
"If we are ready, if we are all ready, to meet the challenge represented by the language of the 'Big Society', we may yet restore some mutual trust," he will say. "Every Christian marriage is a sign of hope, since it is a sign and sacrament of God's own committed love."
"It's no use being cynical about this. Whatever we call the enterprise, the challenge is the same - creating confidence by sharing the burden of constructive work together." "And it would be good to think that in this coming year, we, as a society, might want to think through, carefully and imaginatively, why lifelong faithfulness and the mutual surrender of selfishness are such great gifts."
The Archbishop will reflect on the trials of marriage and also the inspirational examples of partnerships he has seen.
"There will be times when we may feel stupid or helpless, when we don't feel we have the energy or resource to forgive and rebuild after a crisis or a quarrel, when we don't want our freedom limited by the commitments we've made to someone else.
"Yet many of us will know marriages where something extraordinary has happened because of the persistence of one of the parties, or where faithfulness has survived the tests of severe illness or disability or trauma."
He said he felt "deeply moved" when he met the families of servicemen and women and saw their particular "sense of solidarity... so generous and costly".
"As the prince and his fiancee get ready for their new step into solidarity together, they will have plenty of inspiration around, more than you might sometimes guess from the chatter of our culture," he will add.
Dr Williams will go on to ask urge people to remember Christians around the world, including in Zimbabwe and Iraq, who "suffer repression and persecution" for their faith.Dr Williams will go on to ask urge people to remember Christians around the world, including in Zimbabwe and Iraq, who "suffer repression and persecution" for their faith.
He will speak of the "harassment, beatings and arrests" of Zimbabweans and will go on to encourage the congregation to find time to join letter-writing campaigns for "all prisoners of conscience", organised by groups such as Amnesty International and Christian Solidarity Worldwide.